The present invention relates to vehicle bumpers, and in particular to a vehicle rear bumper with a step. The present invention further includes a method of manufacturing same.
Step bumpers are extremely old and are provided particularly for pick-up trucks whereby a step is provided in the bumper at a lower position from the top of the bumper so that one can first step on the step and then into the cargo box of the truck. The step also provides a surface for mounting a trailer hitch ball at a position lower than the top of the bumper.
Prior rear step bumpers have been constructed of a number of pieces of steel welded together to provide a hollow, elongated member. The construction of such bumpers has been very time consuming by reason of the time required for fabrication of the parts and welding together to provide a bumper with a step that is sufficiently strong for the purpose of functioning as a bumper and also as a step. Such operations in the fabrication and assembly of the parts of prior rear step bumpers add considerably to the manufacturing costs and require substantial amount of buttressing in order to provide sufficient strength to function as a bumper and a step.
Thus, a bumper solving the aforementioned problems is desired.